Monday, August 28, 2017

Did you know that in The Marvel Family #17 (published on September 24, 1947*) we discover a little bit of the history of one of Billy and Mary Batson's family members? I had written previously that there have been occasions when people thought they were related to Billy simply because they had the last name of Batson. But what we have revealed to us in The Marvel Family #17 is a true relative from seven generations ago, and his name was William Batson.We learn about this in the story "The Marvel Family Curse!" where Freddy happens to find the diary of William Batson who recounts his encounter with the Salem Witch! William found the witch casting a spell on his best heifer. He captures the witch and ties her up while he goes to get his neighbors, but on his return to the barn he finds the witch has accidentally set the barn ablaze. The witch dies in the flames but not before casting a curse on the Batson family of the seventh generation!

While we have had stories of Billy's faux family, this was a true story of Billy's distant relative. And, it appears, taking decisive action in the fight against evil runs in the Batson blood!*According to Mike's Amazing World of Comics

Monday, August 14, 2017

Whiz Comics #2 gave us the origin of the world's mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel! It was published on December 1, 1939* with a cover date of February 1940. Unless you're independently wealthy, finding an affordable copy of this comic is nearly impossible. That's why I'm so glad that DC published a copy of Whiz Comics #2 as part of their Millennium Edition series. The DC Millennium Edition: Whiz Comics #2 published on January 26, 2000* and was the 14th edition in the series.

The cover has the gold embossed DC Millennium logo on the upper left and shows the cover of Whiz Comics #2. (Please note that it is not the original cover - see my article here for an explanation!)

Inside Front Cover

Inside Back Cover

On the inside front and back covers, there is a brief history of Captain Marvel's comics. They even mention that in the golden age of comics, he surpassed Superman in sales! The article touches briefly on Cap's return in the 1970s and mentions that Captain Marvel is now part of the DC family.

The comic wonderfully reproduces the pages of Whiz Comics #2 in full color! Not only does it give us Captain Marvel's origin, it also includes all the stories first published in that comic (Ibis, Spy Smasher, etc.) It even includes the Lucky Seven Cash Contest that was on the last page of the original comic! I highly recommend this fantastic edition to Captain Marvel fans. It is a high quality comic that can still be found at an affordable price. I hope you can add it to your Captain Marvel collection!!